How To: Install a Spoiler on a 2012+ Mazda5 Sport

88Jeep

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2013 Mazda5 Sport
I purchased a new spoiler off of eBay from thespoilerstore. I had to specify the color, and it was $119 (shipping included). Arrived 3 days after purchase. I couldn't find any Mazda5 specific instructions on the internet, so thought I'd share since the generic instructions provided with the spoiler aren't too helpful. It took about an hour, start to finish, but a majority of that time was spent with me wrestling with the proper placement of the spoiler. This would have been minimized if I had initially used a dry erase marker to trace exactly where the spoiler fit best. I'll include instructions for doing that below.

Here are the provided instructions. You can see they are generic, and a little hard to follow, and there were no 'plastic tabs' as indicated in the instructions.



You can see that you need:

1) Masking tape
2) Dry erase marker
3) Metal punch or small phillips screwdriver and a hammer (even a nail would work)
3) 3/32 and 9/32 drill bit
4) Drill
5) Rust inhibiting primer or silicone adhesive
6) Phillips screwdriver

So, here is how my Mazda5 looked before the spoiler install:



Not too exciting.

Here's where my pleasant surprise began. When you open the rear hatch, you'll notice about a 2 inch black plastic plug in the upper corner of both sides of the hatch. It can be removed by hand, but I used a plastic paint scraper to lift it out.



Once removed, this will allow you to insert the bolt into the spoiler, after the hole has been drilled.

The spoiler has double sided tape around the mounting area, don't remove this yet. You can see where the bolt attaches:



Next, test fit the spoiler on the vehicle. I found that the spoiler fit best with the bottom of the spoiler even with the painted hatch, just above the rear hatch glass. You can press down on the spoiler and see that it fits the contours of the hatch the best this way. Here is what I didn't do, but should have done. Using a dry erase marker, trace the spoiler base once you've determined the best position. Here is a pic of how mine lined up, from the back.



And the side (you should see masking tape holding the spoiler in place here, but I didn't take a pic, so this is a pic after it was bolted in):



Next, the spoiler came with two cardboard strips, one for each side, with a hole to indicate where to drill. This hole was surrounded by double-sided tape.



Remove the tape backing, and align it with the bolt hole and adhere. Make sure the cardboard strips extend past the spoiler, so you can tape these to the hatch once the spoiler is positioned.



Once I had the spoiler positioned properly (this is where the marker outline would have helped), I used masking tape to hold the spoiler in place, and then used masking tape on both sides of the cardboard strip to hold it on the hatch.



Now, carefully remove the spoiler, making sure the cardboard strip remains taped to the hatch. Now you have a drilling template.



I marked the holes with a Sharpie, and also used a small Phillips screwdriver and a hammer to slightly indent the hole so my drill wouldn't wander.



And then drilled the holes starting with the smallest (3/32) bit and ending with the largest bit (9/32). Actually, my 9/32 bit was dull, so I used a smaller 1/4 inch bit, which worked fine, but made it difficult to properly align the bolts with the spoiler.



If you look through the access hole of the hatch, you will see that you need to remove some metal burrs. I used my screwdriver to scrape them off.



Then applied silicone around both sides of the holes that I drilled, as a rust preventative and also to keep moisture from entering the hatch. I cured it a bit with my wife's hair dryer.



Now, remove the backing from the double sided tape on the spoiler, find your marker lines and place the spoiler on the hatch. Open the liftgate (that tape holds really well), and thread the bolts into the back of the spoiler. If you are having a hard time getting the bolt to thread, you can push the spoiler a bit with your hand to get the hole to align. Be careful with the bolt here- you can easily drop it into the inside of the hatch. I was lucky and didn't drop it, but hopefully could have fished it out with a magnet if my clumsiness kicked in.

Tighten the bolts on both sides. They will snug up nicely.



Pop the plastic access plugs back into the hatch, and you are done. Easy!

Here is a view at the gas station where there was better light. You can see the paint matches perfectly.



Not bad for an hour's effort and $119!
 
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Not bad for an hour's effort and $119![/QUOTE]

Looks good... Is yours a sport? I like the color. Please share more pictures?(cool)
 
Looks good... Is yours a sport? I like the color. Please share more pictures?(cool)

Yes, it is a barebones Sport that I'm having lots of fun adding stuff to.

+1, I'd like to see the side profile and rear 3/4 view.

Here are a few more pics of the spoiler:













I think the spoiler paint matches exactly in any light condition. I'm very happy with it.
 
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